NEW CABINETS–NEW KITCHEN

Ah, the kitchen. The favorite gathering spot for family and friends. The first room potential home buyers ask to see. A great kitchen can make a home. And great cabinets can make a kitchen. If you’re living with cabinets (in your kitchen or other room) that are old and worn, now is the perfect time to offer them a facelift, wake them up and make them sing again.

With a little planning, organization and a can-do attitude you can knock the job out over a long weekend, leaving you with a fresh new space and upping the value of your home. Here’s a basic overview for doing it yourself.

One: Stock UpThink ahead. Assemble all the tools and materials you need before you get started, so you’re not working in fits and starts. Some basic supplies you’ll need are:

1. Hand tools such as scrapers, screw drivers, a hammer, sanding blocks, rags and sponges.

2. Painter’s tape (preferable) or masking tape.

3. Newspapers, a drop cloth or other material to protect adjacent surfaces while working.

4. Paint stripper if required, TSP (Tri-Sodium Phosphate) and primer.

5. Good quality paint brushes (don’t skimp here) or a sprayer suitable for the finish you plan to use.

Two: Prep Your SurfaceYou may be tempted to skip some of these steps, but for the best quality outcome each of these is important.

1. Empty your cabinets completely. It’s much easier to work inside them, prep them, remove them if necessary and paint them, without loose stuff inside getting in the way.

2. Remove cabinet doors and shelves. Most shelves simply lift off pegs or supports; some may need to be unscrewed or pried off their supports. If the screws are caked with old paint, clean out the channel with the tip of a

knife or small screwdriver. Remove the screws, being careful not to slip and damage the channel, which will make it impossible to unscrew.

3. Label your cabinet doors and shelves (with Sharpie on strips of painter’s tape or with chalk) to remember where they go.

4. Clean the cabinets thoroughly. Any grease remaining on the surfaces will interfere with refinishing.

5. Lightly sand any rough areas of bubbled or peeling paint or varnish, and then sand all surfaces until they are smooth and even. Take your time with this step—the results will be well worth the extra effort.

6. When done sanding, wipe the wood with a damp cloth (to remove all dust particles) and let dry. If the finish you’re working with is an oil base product, you may dampen a cloth with mineral spirits or paint thinner, rather than water, which will allow it to dry more rapidly.

By Mimi Greenwood Knight

Wanna’ Take the Plunge and DIY Your Cabinets—Here’s How

7. Clean the cabinet hardware. Unless you’re replacing the hardware, cleaning it will help give your cabinets a fresher look. Soak the hardware in a soapy water solution for 30 minutes, scrub lightly with a soft brush, rinse, let dry, and apply polish.

8. Strip painted hardware. Here’s an easy way. Put the hardware in a crockpot, and cover with water. Add 2 tablespoons of liquid laundry detergent, set the heat to medium and set the timer to 8 hours or longer. When the time’s up, carefully remove the hardware, and peel off the paint. Immediately clean off the hardware with a stiff toothbrush—otherwise the paint will start to harden again. Buff with a beeswax polish to protect the surface, and repeat every 6 months.

9. Strip the cabinets (optional). If you want to take the cabinets back to the original wood, apply a clear varnish or polyurethane finish or stain previously painted cabinets, you will have to strip all the paint off the cabinets using strong chemicals, followed by sanding. (This is a much bigger project and will take more than a long weekend.) Liquid strippers work best, but look for gel or semi-paste types because they won’t drip as much when used on vertical surfaces. In order to choose the correct stripper, you also need to know what kind of finish you already have on your cabinets.

10. Fill dents, chips and nicks with wood putty. Sand the putty smooth after it dries. Wipe the wood with a damp cloth (to remove all dust particles) and let dry.

Three: Prime and PaintNow you’re ready for the actual painting.

1. Prime the cabinets. If you plan on using paint to refinish your cabinets, you’ll want to prime them first. Primers are paint products formulated to allow new paint to bond with the old paint below it. The primer seals the wood, covering any blemishes, stains, knots or anything else whose color might leech into the final paint coat. If you’re painting an unfinished surface, whether wood, drywall, concrete or metal, it needs to be primed before it’s painted.

2. Paint your cabinets. The moment is finally here. Pat yourself on the back for following all the steps up to this point. Now you can transform your kitchen from flat to fabulous. Paint with a sprayer for a smooth, glossy, even appearance, but be sure to mask everything in sight you don’t want to paint, as aerosol paint spray will get everywhere. A high-quality brush can also do the job. Be sure to apply new paint (or varnish) within the time limit specified in the directions. Always brush in one direction, and don’t lay it on too thick. Two light coats are always better than one heavy layer. Oil based paints won’t leave brush strokes like latex paints do, but white shades can yellow with time. You might consider a marine varnish which is water repellent.

“The most popular look right now is cabinetry that matches the trim in the rest of the house”.

– Kory Cheatham from Protek Painting

Let’s face it. Some of you have read up to this point and thought how you’d rather have three root canals than go through all those steps on your own to redo your kitchen, bathroom or office cabinets. There’s no shame in that. We’re not all DIYers. There are plenty GREAT reasons to call in the experts and have them paint your cabinets for you. We contacted professional painting contractor, Kory Cheatham of Protek Painting and asked him to share some of the reasons clients prefer to leave the painting to him and his crew. Here’s what he said.

Time: Have you ever undertaken a DIY project that didn’t take considerably more time than you anticipated? If you can answer “yes”, kudos to you. But for many of us the project we’d penciled in for a long weekend ends up stretching out over a week, leaving us to live around construction mess. Variables always seem to crop up that weren’t figured into the original equation requiring more and more work that you didn’t anticipate.

Money: The same here. Those little complications that require you to beat a trail back and forth to the home improvement store, for items you didn’t originally plan on buying quickly add up, making your paint project more expensive than you thought it would be. If you’re working with a contractor, he is committed to the price he quoted you and will need to absorb any unexpected expenses himself.

Safety: Painting can be hazardous work, whether it’s working on a ladder or dealing with fumes from solvents and dust. Hiring a professional contractor, who’s experienced in this type of work, means you don’t have to worry about these problems and you know the job is done safely.

Preparation: In painting, prep is everything. Getting the surface properly prepared makes all the difference in the outcome. Professional contractors know the value of preparation and will do it right, assuring you a professional-looking job.

Knowledge of Paints and How to Apply Them: The choices today are more complicated than just oil or latex, and professional contractors will know what works, how to use it, and will have the right tools for the job.

Cleanup and Disposal: Hiring a professional contractor means you don’t have to worry about dealing with paint residues and other leftovers. Professionals will know how to handle hazardous wastes that may be part of the job in a planet-friendly way.

REASONS TO HIRE A PROFESSIONAL PAINTING CONTRACTOR

ASK THE EXPERTKory Cheatham of Protek Residential & Commercial Painting

What’s the most popular look in cabinets right now?

“The most popular look right now is cabinetry that matches the trim in the rest of the house—most often white. We’re also being asked to create faux finishes with a ‘tea stain’ of green or chocolate on top of cream.”

What one mistake do homeowners make when painting cabinets?

“We’re often asked to create complicated finishes using a combination of several colors to create a marbling effect. This is a bad idea because kitchen cabinets take a beating and, as life happens to them, those custom finishes are going to be impossible to touch up.”

What advice do you have for homeowners who want to wake up old cabinets?

“Hire professionals to give you a professional-looking finish you can maintain yourself. Ask them for a simple, single-color finish then change out the hardware yourself.”

www.ProtekPainting.com • 972-517-2468Cabinet work done by Protek Painting